The Social Pulse: 5 social media trends for 2013

Hint: If you run a Vermont company, think mobile and think global

Dec. 27, 2012

Alexandra Tursi, senior communications specialist at University of Vermont Continuing Education and consultant at BorealisPR. She is Social Pulse columnist for the Innovate section of the Burlington Free Press. / Free Press photo

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Alexandra Tursi

With the new year comes new trends. Looking forward, one major shift will be the professionalization of social media across businesses, governments, and nonprofit organizations. Increased usage will enliven the debate over who owns social content. Expect the debates of 2012 — recently epitomized by the customer rebellion over Instagram’s new terms of service — to be the tip of the iceberg.

Things to watch for:

1. Rise of the social media major

A Harvard Business Review survey showed that only 12 percent of companies using social media think they do so effectively. Knowing how to use social media personally does not translate into using it strategically within an organization. To maximize impact, specialized training will be critical. In 2013, we will see more social media coursework and programs at colleges and universities. Organizations will invest in social media education for employees and compliance training in industries like finance and health care.

Next step: Evaluate the training needs of your staff. How will you augment your employees’ social media skill set in 2013?

2. New advertising models

Social media services will continue in their quest for revenue-generating ad models, resulting in new ad models that replace the traditional banner and interruption ads. Watch for native ads (like Promoted Tweets and Sponsored Stories). These ads don’t look like ads at all (apart from small disclaimers); actually, they look like just another piece of user-generated content.

Anticipate user resentment over this intrusion into one’s personal social stream. Brands must tread carefully when it comes to reaching customers here.

Next step: Use analytical tools to evaluate your branded content. Then, selectively amplify content by translating it into ads to reach a larger audience.

3. Beyond desktop

Facebook noted in its SEC filing earlier this year: “[We] anticipate that the rate of growth in mobile usage will exceed the growth in usage through personal computers for the foreseeable future.” They’re right: Mobile Internet users will surpass wired Internet users by 2015, powered in part by social media.

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Next step: Determine a mobile strategy for your business, if you have not already.

4. Globalized localization

Facebook may have 900 million users, but localized (think Front Porch Form and NextDoor) and niche networks (think Pinterest and Instagram), which offer more focused functionalities, continue to grow. How to leverage these peer networks will be the next challenge for business, government and the nonprofit sectors.

Borders are also breaking down globally: social media users are forecast to grow by 21.1 percent in Asia-Pacific, 12.6 percent in Latin America, and 23.3 percent in the Middle East and Africa. China’s Weibo (a Twitter-esque microblogging technology) recently hit 400 million users.

Next step: Leverage the expanding array of social networks. It’s not one-size-fits-all. Pursue niche networks to forge stronger local connections.

5. Beyond words

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Instagram has 17 percent more daily users than Twitter. We are seeing a broader shift toward visual content in the digital space: infographics and photo and video sharing. This will continue as brands compete in a crowded content marketplace.

Next step: Reflect on how your business tells its brand stories. How can you leverage visual storytelling to change the way you interact with your customers?

These trends point to a larger meta-trend: social media is going beyond marketing.

“The Social Economy,” a 2011 McKinsey report, found that $1.3 trillion could be unlocked by social technologies, adding value in organizational functions and productivity, from human resources to sales to operations and distribution.

All signs seem to indicate that 2013 will be the Year of the Social Business.